Batwoman (season 2)

The second season of The CW series Batwoman premiered on January 17, 2021. The series is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, a costumed vigilante created by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Keith Giffen, and is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with other Arrowverse television series. The showrunner for this season is Caroline Dries.

Batwoman
Season 2
Promotional poster
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes3
Release
Original networkThe CW
Original releaseJanuary 17, 2021 (2021-01-17) –
present (present)
Season chronology

The season was ordered in January 2020. Production began that September. Main cast members Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson and Dougray Scott return; however, series star Ruby Rose did not return as Kate Kane / Batwoman, with her character being replaced by a new one named Ryan Wilder portrayed by Javicia Leslie.

Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
211"Whatever Happened to Kate Kane?"Holly DaleCaroline DriesJanuary 17, 2021 (2021-01-17)T13.227510.66[1]
Homeless ex-convict Ryan Wilder is surprised when the crash of Kate Kane's plane from National City yields her a functioning Batsuit, which she uses to try to locate Alice and avenge her foster mother's death. Tommy Elliot, wearing Bruce Wayne's face, moves into Wayne Manor and obtains Luke's remaining kryptonite fragment. Julia quickly identifies him as an impostor since he is unfamiliar with where her father is living. Elliot steals the Batmobile, goes after Ryan with a gun containing the kryptonite bullet, and shoots her. The Batsuit protects her enough to recover and beat him unconscious, leaving him to be returned to Arkham. She returns the Batsuit to Luke and Mary but then notices some effects from the Kryptonite wound. Kate's body is not recovered, but Jacob and Mary vow not to give up the search. Alice reveals to Jacob that Kate was the first Batwoman. After Elliot's arrest, Alice finds a message from Safiyah written on a newspaper article depicting Kate's disappearance, telling her to "consider us even." Ryan starts to feel the side-effects of the Kryptonite bullet. As Jacob takes down the "do not cross" tape and shines the Bat-Signal with sorrow, Alice tells Mouse's corpse that a war with Safiyah is coming with Batwoman not being around to stop it.
222"Prior Criminal History"Carl SeatonJames Stoteraux & Chad FiveashJanuary 24, 2021 (2021-01-24)T13.227520.62[2]
Grabbing a rat, Alice ties it to Mouse's corpse and attracts many bats. A flashback reveals that Kate once saved Ryan from a mugging. Ryan applies for security jobs but is stopped by her previous criminal history. She prevents a robbery while looking for medicine to treat her Kryptonite wound and is questioned by the Crows. Based on a conversation with Sophie, she deduces that Alice is Beth Kane. Alice ambushes Julia in her car and proposes an alliance against Safiyah, then stabs her non-fatally when she refuses. A large crowd assembles demanding Batwoman's return. Luke and Mary determine that this is a likely target for Alice, and agree to have Ryan in the Batsuit try to disperse the crowd after Mouse's body was brought to Mary. Alice confronts Ryan on the roof. They fight, but Alice leaves as a swarm of poison-carrying bats attacks the crowd. Ryan leads the bats with the Batmobile into a place where they are destroyed, but many people are infected with the same poison that killed Mouse and Catherine Hamilton-Kane. For unknown reasons, Alice gives Mary a sample of Mary's own blood containing the Desert Rose antidote that she siphoned the day she was abducted by Nocturna. Mary gives the blood to Hamilton Dynamics to make an antidote. Luke and Mary agree to allow Ryan to continue to act as Batwoman until or unless Kate returns, as long as she agrees not to kill anyone. Sophie determines Alice's location and confronts her, but a sword-wielding assassin named Tatiana interferes and Sophie is knocked out. Then Tatiana knocks out Alice to bring her to Safiyah for what Alice did with the Desert Rose.
233"Bat Girl Magic!"Holly DaleNancy KiuJanuary 31, 2021 (2021-01-31)T13.227530.71[3]
A hit man named Victor Zsasz kills two people for his client and marks himself with a razor for each one. Sophie and Alice wake up on the private island of Coryana ruled by Safiyah, who rescued and trained Alice some five years ago. Safiyah tells Alice that she did not kill Kate, and later shows her Kate's necklace and claims she is still alive. She demands some unspecified service from Alice and returns both to Gotham. Ryan takes a job at the club to satisfy her parole officer and alters the Batsuit to include a black wig. One of Mary's patients who was treated for a bat bite has a spontaneous remission of her cancer. Upon being told about the use of the Desert Rose when treating the bat bites by Alice, Safiyah hires Zsasz to steal the list of those who were treated -- Batwoman foils his first attempt and then has to defend Mary from his attack on her clinic. She captures Zsasz and is hailed in the press. Mary tells Luke she thinks that Kate is dead, but Alice (and hence Sophie) think she is alive. The Crows investigate a new drug being marketed by the False-Face gang. After having his tech guys unlock Kate's salvaged cellphone by the time Sophie returns, Jacob shows her a picture with Sofiyah's name defacing it. Jacob then notes that the picture is by Jack Napier.
244"Fair Skin, Blue Eyes"[4]Menhaj HudaEbony GilbertFebruary 14, 2021 (2021-02-14)TBATBD
255"Gore on Canvas"[5]Norma BaileyDaniel ThomsenFebruary 21, 2021 (2021-02-21)TBATBD

Cast and characters
Main article: List of Batwoman characters

Main

Recurring

Notable guests

Production

Development

In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a second season.[11] Caroline Dries returned as showrunner.[12]

Writing

In May 2020, ahead of the season one finale, Caroline Dries announced that Safiyah Sohail would be the Big Bad of season two. Though the character was referenced multiple times in season one, Dries said they "didn't want to waste her or blow out her character in Season 1 when there are all these other hijinks happening", so it was decided to preserve her debut in season two.[12] As the last two planned episodes of the first season could not be filmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing production to be shut down, they were changed to be part of season two. Dries said the scripts of those episodes may undergo tinkering.[7] Dries later announced that the season would have another Big Bad named Black Mask.[9]

Casting

Main cast members Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson and Dougray Scott will return as Beth Kane / Alice, Sophie Moore, Luke Fox and Jacob Kane.[6] In May 2020, Ruby Rose, who portrayed the title role of Kate Kane / Batwoman in the first season, announced she would be leaving the series ahead of its second season; no reason was initially given for her departure.[13] It was mutually decided between Rose, the studio, and the network for her to leave.[14][15] In August, Rose called being the lead of a series "taxing" and stated her back surgery following an on-set accident in 2019 was a contributing factor in deciding to leave, saying it was "time for me to take a break to fully heal and then return" to acting. Spending time in isolation because of the pandemic also allowed Rose "to just think about a lot of different things and what you want to achieve in life and what you want to do," which allowed her "a great opportunity to have a dialogue about a lot of things" with the producers.[16]

In June, Dries said it was discussed to replace Rose as Kate Kane, as "it would be seamless" for some of the episodes already written. However, with guidance from Greg Berlanti, it was decided to move forward with an entirely new character invented for the series as Batwoman, which would "also respect everything that Ruby put into the Kate Kane character." Dries also felt by using a new character, "it helps the audience" so the writers would not have to "address the elephant in the room".[17] She also revealed Kate would not be killed and her disappearance would be a key storyline during season two.[18] Immediately after Rose's departure, the producers reaffirmed their commitment to the series and finding a new actress of the LGBTQ community to lead future seasons.[13] In July, Javicia Leslie was cast as Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman.[19]

In September 2020, Shivani Ghai was cast as Safiyah Sohail,[20][21] Leah Gibson was cast as Tatiana / The Whisper, and Nathan Owens was cast as Ocean, all in recurring roles.[22] In December 2020, David Ramsey was revealed to be reprising his Arrow role of John Diggle in the season.[10]

Filming

Filming for the second season began on September 3, 2020.[23] By September 29, filming was temporarily shut down, because of delays in receiving COVID-19 test results for the cast and crew.[24][25] By October 6, the cast and crew were given permission to resume filming after receiving their delayed test results.[26] Filming is expected to conclude on May 10, 2021.[27]

Broadcast

The second season premiered on January 17, 2021.[28]

Reception

Ratings
Viewership and ratings per episode of Batwoman
No. Title Air dateRating
(18–49)		Viewers
(millions)		DVR
(18–49)		DVR viewers
(millions)		Total
(18–49)		Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Whatever Happened to Kate Kane?" January 17, 20210.10.66[1]TBDTBDTBDTBD
2 "Prior Criminal History" January 24, 20210.20.62[2]TBDTBDTBDTBD
3 "Bat Girl Magic!" January 31, 20210.20.71[3]TBDTBDTBDTBD

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds an approval rating of 88% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Batwoman's second season survives a soft reboot, maintaining the show's excellence while giving Javicia Leslie plenty of room to spread her wings."[29]

Notes
  1. Despite the character being dead since the season one finale, Sam Littlefield was still credited for his corpse portrayal of the character in the first two episodes of this season.

References
  1. Metcalf, Mitch (January 20, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.17.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  2. Metcalf, Mitch (January 26, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.24.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  3. Metcalf, Mitch (February 2, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.31.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  4. "(#204) "Fair Skin, Blue Eyes"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  5. "(#205) "Gore on Canvas"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  6. Anderson, Jenna (May 14, 2020). "Batwoman Season 2 Synopsis Teases New Villains and Romance". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  7. Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 18, 2020). "Batwoman Boss Talks About Ending Season With That Bat-tastic Reveal, Supergirl 'Cameo' That Didn't Happen". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  8. Agard, Chancellor (September 30, 2020). "Exclusive: 'Batwoman' casts 'Gotham' actor as 'unpredictable' Victor Zsasz in season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  9. Agard, Chancellor (January 12, 2021). "'Batwoman' boss confirms Black Mask is season 2's other big bad". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  10. Petski, Denise (December 1, 2020). "David Ramsey To Direct, Return As John Diggle & Mystery Character In the CW's Arrowverse". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (January 7, 2020). "The CW Renews 13 Series Including 'Batwoman', 'Nancy Drew', 'The Flash', 'Riverdale' & 'All American'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  12. Anderson, Jenna (May 10, 2020). "Batwoman Showrunner Confirms SPOILER Will Be Season 2's Big Bad". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  13. Andreeva, Nellie (May 19, 2020). "Ruby Rose Exits the CW's 'Batwoman', DC Series To Recast Iconic Lead Role For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  14. Ausiello, Michael (May 20, 2020). "Ruby Rose's Batwoman Exit: The Story Behind Her Shocking Departure". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  15. Otterson, Joe (May 20, 2020). "Why 'Batwoman' Star Ruby Rose Left the CW Series". Variety. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  16. Cordero, Rosy (August 11, 2020). "Ruby Rose explains how the pandemic played a role in her decision to leave Batwoman". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  17. Andreeva, Nellie (June 7, 2020). "'Batwoman' Showrunner On Introducing New Character Instead Of Recasting Following Ruby Rose's Exit – ATX". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  18. Agard, Chancellor (June 10, 2020). "Batwoman boss reveals Kate Kane won't be killed off: 'We'll never erase her'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  19. Otterson, Joe (July 8, 2020). "'Batwoman' Casts Javicia Leslie as New Series Lead". Variety. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  20. Ausiello, Michael (September 10, 2020). "Batwoman Casts Dominion Alum as Alice's Nemesis, Safiyah". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  21. Agard, Chancellor (September 10, 2020). "'Batwoman' casts 'Dominion' alum as the villain Safiyah from Alice's past". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  22. Petski, Denise (September 23, 2020). "'Batwoman': Leah Gibson & Nathan Owens To Recur in the CW Superhero Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  23. Anderson, Jenna (September 3, 2020). "Batwoman Stars Begin Production on Season 2 in New Video". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  24. Aurthur, Kate (September 30, 2020). "'Riverdale,' 'Batwoman' Shut Down Over Testing Delays in British Columbia". Variety. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  25. Andreeva, Nellie (September 29, 2020). "U.S. TV Production in Vancouver Largely On Pause Over COVID-19 Test Results Delays". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  26. Andreeva, Nellie; Patten, Dominic (October 7, 2020). "'Riverdale', 'Batwoman' & 'Maid' Latest Series To Resume Production In Vancouver, But Concerns Over Testing Remain". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  27. "DGC BC Production List" (PDF). Directors Guild of Canada. August 21, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  28. Ausiello, Michael (October 29, 2020). "The CW Sets Delayed Premiere Dates for Flash, Superman & Lois, Riverdale, Charmed, Batwoman and More". TVLine. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  29. "Batwoman: Season 2 (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
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